1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to golf tees, and in particular to golf tees for use on driving ranges.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Golf tees have been known in a variety of forms for many years. A typical golf tee has a generally cylindrical body which is pointed at one end for insertion into the ground, and having a truncated cone at its other end which is generally concave for holding a golf ball. Golfers tee golf balls at different heights depending on the preference of the golfer and to the club which the golfer is using. Golfers generally tee golf balls up higher for clubs having a lower slant (i.e. a driver) and lower for clubs having less of a slant (i.e. a No. 3 wood). Golfers who use tees for irons generally only raise the ball a small amount from the ground. Likewise, when golfers practice at a driving range, most would generally prefer the option of varying the height at which a ball would be teed, depending again on the club which is used and the preference of the golfer.
Many golf ranges have a very simple teeing system. There is a rubber mat on which the golfer stands. A hole is provided in the mat from which extends a generally thin flexible rubber or rubber-like tube upon which the ball is set. The tube is of one height, and the golfer must use that height when hitting golf balls from the tee.
There are various patents which can be used for varying the height of a golf tee, other than simply sticking the golf tee in the ground at various depths. U.S. Pat. No. 1,173,792 (Fuchs) has a rotatable wheel having radially extended tees of different heights which can be rotated about an axis parallel with the ground, and beneath a tee board from which the respective tees extend for varying the height at which a ball is teed. A block having an oblong irregular-shaped trough and a vertically slotted tee pivotally mounted in the trough and adapted to be wedgingly supported in variable different, vertical positions in the block for changing the height of the tee, is described in U.S. Pat. No. 1,255,140 (David). In U.S. Pat. No. 1,929,579 (Garlando), a notched bar is moveable between a pair of spring loaded balls in the vertical direction for varying the height of the tee. Referring to U.S. Pat. No. 1,942,672 (Thompson), a golf tee is provided with a sharpened lower edge for penetration into the earth. The tee portion is moveable with respect to the body portion to vary the height in which the ball can be positioned on the tee. Another rotatable body having radially extending tees with different lengths is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,202,556 (Jordan). Disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,516,664 (Brennan) is a golf tee holder for use in man-made turf, where a number of openings are provided for receiving golf tee holders. There is only one hole for receiving golf tees, so there is no height variation.
A variable height golf tee is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,720,677 (Rudduck). U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,014 (Gustine) has threaded bolt and stop nuts for allowing the user to select various heights on which a golf ball can be set above the ground. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,100 (Dilmore), a golf tee for use with a mat at a driving range is shown. The patent discloses a vertical tube extending through a hole in the mat, and an insert rests in the hole. The insert can be moved. The insert has an opening for receiving a conventional golf tee. The tee can be adjusted in the vertical direction to change the location of the ball. Referring next to U.S. Pat. No. 5,967,909 (Broadbridge), a golf ball tee holder is disclosed for a driving range, having a mat through which the teeholder extends. The tee-holder has a flat base and an integral central upward tubular shank extending from it. The shank has a dished upper end with a slot. A golf tee can be inserted in the slot, and it may be raised or lowered according to the golfer""s discretion.
All but one of the patents described above provide means for varying the height at which a golf ball can be teed up. In many instances they are at driving ranges. All of these disclosures are quite complex, and therefore expensive and uneconomical.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 279,171 shows a golf tee base with tethered golf tees of different heights which can be positioned to hold a golf ball at different heights. It, too, is complex and relatively expensive.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 78,530 shows a golf tee, but it does not appear to have a variable height adjustment. U.S. Pat. No. 3,697,082 (Di Laura et al.) discloses a foam golf tee which is configured to engage irregularities in the ground. However, there is no way to vary the height of a golf ball supported on the tee.
Thus, there is no simple and economical golf tees available for driving ranges which enable the easy use of a teeing system for varying the height at which a golfer ay support a golf ball on the ground. The present invention achieves this result.
An object of the present invention is to provide a golf tee system, particularly for se at driving ranges, for enabling a golfer to vary the height at which a golf ball may be teed above the ground.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a variable height golf tee system which is simple in construction and easy to fabricate.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide an economical and efficient golf tee system for varying the height at which a golfer may support a golf ball at a driving range, which is not subject to damage despite prolonged use.
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a golf tee system for varying the height at which a golfer may support a golf ball, which is simple in construction and compact.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a golf tee for use at a driving range for supporting a golf ball very close to the ground.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a golf tee for supporting a golf ball close to the ground which is simple in construction, economical to make and use, which can be used alternatively with the golf tee systems described above for varying the height at which a golfer may support a ball teed on a mat at a driving range.
Other objects will be apparent from the description described below and from the appended claims.
The foregoing and other objects are achieved according to a preferred embodiment of the invention. According to the preferred embodiment of the invention, a support material made of a rubber or rubber-like body, such as a cylinder, is supported on a base. Two or more holes of different depths are provided in the free end of the body, and into which golf tees can be releasable inserted. The depth of the hole determines the amount that the golf tee can be inserted into the body, and this varies the height of the tee above the ground, and therefore the position at which a golf ball would be supported on the tee. The holder and body are disposed on the ground, and a mat of the type typically used at golf driving ranges can be place over the device, the mat having a hole through which the body of the device extends. The golfer can insert an ordinary golf tee into a desired hole depending on the golfers preference and the club which the golfer is using and hit the ball off the tee with the golf club. The body can have a dished, concave portion for supporting a ball without a separate tee, and an alternate body having the dished, concave portion without the tee-receiving holes.